Wrench handle extension



May 30, 1961 B. LURlE WRENCH HANDLE EXTENSION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 27, 1959 '1! BENJAMIN ENTOR. "K. LURIE y 1961 B. L. LURlE 2,986,054

WRENCH HANDLE EXTENSION Filed Nov. 27, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. BENJAMIN L. um:

The improved handle extension comprising the present invention has been designed for use primarily as a pipe,

fitting tool accessory in connection with Stillson type pipe wrenches having pivoted jaws which tighten their grip upon the objects to be turned as force is applied to the handles of such wrenches. The invention is, however, capable of other uses and extension handles constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention will be found useful in connection with a wide variety of adjustable or fixed wrenches and other tools, particularly tools where large leverage forces are required, as for example in the application or removal of relatively large size nuts to threaded shafts such as are encountered in railroad or other heavy machinery.

Irrespective however of the particular use to which the invention may be put, the essential features thereof are at all times preserved.

In the pipe fitting trade, most wrench handles which have been devised for increasing the leverage afforded by any given wrench are cumbersome and require considerable manipulation for their application to a wrench handle and for their removal therefrom. Such handle extensions depend for their anchorage to the wrench handle upon manually operable cam or screw clamping devices, or upon spring-pressed ball or pin detents. Such devices frequently require modification of the wrench handle for proper cooperation with the extension. Additionally, many of these clamping devices assimilate the entire load and transmit the leverage to the wrench handle so that the leverage capacity of the wrench handle extension is no greater than the ability of the clamping means to withstand the forces involved.- Still further, wrench handle extensions which incorporate cam, set screw and similar clamping instrumentalities are rendered ineflicient in the presence of dirt or other foreign substances and thus necessitate frequent cleaning of both the handle extensions and the wrench handles to which they are applied.

For the reasons outlined above, conventional wrench handle extensions now upon the market have not met with favor in the pipe fitting trade and operators in the field have found it expedient, when increased leverage is found necessary due to the inadequate length of a given wrench handle, merely to slip a length of tubularv pipe.

loosely and telescopically over the wrench handle to, in effect, increase the length of the available leverage arm. While this expedient has proven satisfactory in many instances, it hascertain disadvantages, as well as dangers. Where a given pipe section to be so used is unduly oversize, the sharp rim of the pipe section will frequently cut into and mar the handle to which it is applied. This is particularly true in the case of wooden or wooden covered tool handles. If the application is madein haste and full and adequate telescopic relationship is not establishedbetween the wrench handle and its pipe extension, there is the danger of slippage of the pipe extension from the wrench handle during application offorceto. the extension and consequentinjury to the operator. Additates Patent w tionally, such loose telescopic union between the wrench handle and its pipe extension is usually a rotary union involving a certain amount of relative universal movement between the parts so that, in the case of nut turning operations, proper control of the wrench movements cannot be attained.

The present invention is designed to overcome the above-noted limitations that are attendant upon the construction and use of conventional wrench handle extensions and, toward this end, it contemplates the provision of a novel extension which is applicable to a large variety of wrench or other tool handles without requiring modification of the handles and which is repeatedly applicable to and removable from such handles in the field under adverse conditions involving the presence of dirt and the like as outlined above.

The provision of a wrench handle extension possessing the advantages briefly outlined above being among the general objects of the invention, it is a more specific object to provide such an extension which is applicable to any one of a large variety of wrenches or other tools by the simple expedient of pushingthe extension in telescopic fashion over the end of the wrench handle and which, when so applied, will become securely locked, by a wedging action, to the wrench handle against both dislodgment and looseness thereon.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wrench handle extension of this character having associated therewith novel percussive knock-out means whereby the extension readily may be loosened from the wrench handle for facile removal therefrom by mere manual separation of the two parts without requiring either the use of force or the manipulation of special locking means.

A still further object is to provide a wrench handle extension having associated therewith knock-out means as outlined above, and wherein the knock-out means is devoid of springs or other yieldable restoring means, restoration of the knock-out means to its inoperative position being automatically attained upon subsequent application of the extension to a wrench or other tool handle.

The provision of a wrench handle which'is simple in its design and construction and which therefore may be manufactured at a relatively low cost; one which is comprised of a minimum number of parts, particularly moving parts, and which therefore is unlikely to get out of order; one which is rugged and durable and which therefore will withstand rough usage; one which may be permanently assembled at the factory and which will require no further attention or adjustment of parts; and one which, otherwise, is well adapted to perform the services required of it are further desirable features which have been borne in mind in the production and development of the present invention.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the inven tion, not at this time enumerated, will become readily apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings forming a part of this specification, 'a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown.

In these drawings:

. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a wrench handle extension constructed in. accordance with the principles of the present invention and showing the same operatively applied to a wrench or other tool handle;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially centrally and longitudinally through the wrench handle extension of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 77 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 8-8 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 9-9 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 10-10 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 11 is an enlarged detail view of a limited portion of the structure shown in Fig. 3.

In all of the above described views, similar characters of reference are employed to designate similar parts throughout.

Referring now to the drawings in detail a wrench handle extension constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention has been designated in its entirety at 10 and is shown as being operatively applied to the handle 12 of a conventional pipe fitters wrench which may be of the Stillson wrench type. Such wrenches have handles which vary in length from eight inches to three feet, the eight inch variety being suitable for general household utility and the longer handled wrenches being for professional or industrial use. The handles are usually of steel throughout although in the smaller sizes they sometimes are in the form of a steel shank with a wood trim or veneer. In any event, the cross sectional shape of the handle is invariably flattened, which is to say that its thickness in one direction is greater than in a direction at right angles thereto, some handles being oval in cross section and others being provided with truly flat sides. The wrench handle extension of the present invention is designed to accommodate a wide variety of such handle shapes.

The wrench handle extension 10 involves in its general organization a tubular outer sheath or casing 14 which is open at its ends. The casing 14 is cylindrical throughout a major portion of its length as shown in Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive, but merges into a portion of generally rectangular cross section at one end thereof as shown in Figs. 8 to 10 inclusive. The circular section has been designated at 16 and extends from the left hand end of the casing as seen in Figs. 2 and 3 along approximately two-thirds of the longitudnial extent of the casing. The remaining one-third of the casing has been designated at 18. The merger from circular to rectangular cross section takes place gradually in a medial region of the casing designated at 20 and which may be clearly seen in Figs. 1, 2 and 7. The section 16 will hereinafter be referred to as the handle section of the casing 14 since it is this portion thereof which is grasped for the application of a leverage to the instrument. The section 18 will hereinafter be referred to as a socket section inasmuch as it is adapted to be telescopically applied to and received over the distal end of the tool handle 12', the latter fitting into an internal socket 22 afforded by the section 18.

The handle section 16 is of uniform diameter throughout from end to end. The width of the generally rectangular section 18 in one direction, as best seen in Fig. 2, is less than the diameter of the handle section while the width of the section 18 in a direction at a right angle to the previously specified direction is greater than the diameter of the handle section. Thus the opposed side walls 24 (appearing in longitudinal cross section in Fig. 2) of the region of merger 20 converge forwardly of the wrench handle extension while the opposed side walls 26 (appearing in longitudinal cross section in Fig. 3) of the region of merger 20 diverge forwardly of the extension. The diverging side walls 26 have a relatively small slant angle so that when the socket portion 18 of the casing 14 is applied over the end of a wrench handle such as the handle 12 of Figs. 1 and 2, the sides of the handle will firmly bind against the walls 26 and securely maintain the handle within the socket 22 against rocking movement relative to the axis of the wrench handle extension as a whole. It is to be noted from an inspection of Figs. 9 and 10 that the four corners of the socket are rounded as at 28 in conformity with the cross sectional shape of most wrench and other tool handles. By such an arrangement, a fairly snug fit between the four projects centrally through the left hand open end of the casing 14 as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 and extends inwardly of the casing to a point adjacent to the base or bottom of the socket 22. The ejector rod is capable of limited axial sliding movement within the casing 14 from the retracted inoperative position wherein it is shown in full lines in Fig. 3 to an advanced operative or ejecting position wherein it is shown in dotted lines in this view.

The inner or right hand end of the ejector rod 30 as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, carries an impact ejector proper 32 which constitutes an element of the composite rod and which is designed for contact with the extreme distal end of the wrench handle 12 during ejecting operations. The ejector proper 32 has a central hub portion 34 which, as shown in Fig. 10 is rectangular in cross section, and a pair of outwardly diverging impact arms 36. The vertical transverse span of the two impact arms 36 as viewed in Fig. 9 is appreciably greater than the horizontal width of the socket 22' so that the ejector 32, and consequently the ejector rod 30, is prevented from appreciable angular turning movement within the casing 14. Due to the outward divergence of the two impact arms 36, as well as the curvature of the distal end of the tool handle 12, the arms 36 will straddle the extreme end of the tool handle and make wide contact with the handle during ejecting operations. Additionally, this wide span of the impact arms 36 serves to center the inner end of the ejector rod 30 within the casing 14.

The other or outer end region of the ejector rod 30 is centered within the casing 14 by means of an antifriction slide assembly including a tubular slide member 40 which projects axially through the open end of the casing 14. The slide assembly further includes a knockout button 41 including an elongated shank portion 42 which extends centrally through the slide member 40 and has its inner end abutting the adjacent end of the ejector rod 30 and maintained in such abutting relationship by means of a coupling sleeve 44. The coupling sleeve 44 abuts the central region of a stop ring or washer 46 and the latter is secured as by welding to the inner open end or rim of the tubular slide member 40. The stop washer 46 is formed with a central opening 48 (Fig. 11) therethrough and the shank portion 42 of the knock-out button 41 extends through the opening 48 and substantially fills the same.

The outer end of a tubular slide member 40 is secured as by welding to a second stop ring or Washer 50 having a central opening 52 therethrough and through which opening the shank portion 42 of the knock-out button 40 also extends. The respective diameters of the two stop washers 46 and 50 are slightly greater than the overall diameter of the slide member 40. Interposed between the tubular slide member 40 and the cylindrical inner wall surface of the casing 12 is an anti-friction sleeve liner or bushing 54 which may be made of bronze or other suitable metal or of Teflon, nylon or other suitable moldable plastic material. The extreme left hand end of the tubular casing 17 as viewed in Figs. 2, 3 and 11 is turned or beaded inwardly as at 56 to retain the sleeve or liner 54 within the confines of the casing against dislodgment. A centering ring or washer 58 having a central opening 59 therethrough extends across the extreme outer end region of the slide member 40 and serves to center the outer end of the knock-out button shank 42 within the tubular slide member 40 and consequently maintains the shank centered at all times andcoaxial with the axis of the casing 14.

From the above description it will be seen that the ejector rod 30 and slide assembly including the knock-out button 41, slide member 40 and the two stop washers 46 and 50, are slidable axially of the casing 14 bodily as a unit from the full line position wherein the assembly is shown in Fig. 2 to the dotted line position thereof. In the full line or retracted position of the assembly, the stop washer 46 will engage the forward rim of the anti-friction sleeve or liner 54 to limit the rearward movement of the assembly, and consequently of the ejector rod 30 and the impact ejector proper 32. In the dotted or advanced operative position of the assembly, the stop washer 50 will engage the rear rim 56 of the casing 14 and limit the forward movement of the assembly, as well as of the rod 30 and impact ejector 32.

In the operation of the wrench handle extension assembly 10, the socket portion or section 18 of the casing 12 is telescopically inserted over the end region of a tool handle such as the handle 12 shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 and the assembly is forcibly pushed forwardly until a tight frictional fit is obtained between the socket walls 26 and the opposed sides of the handle. The relatively slight slant angle afforded by the sloping walls 26 will alow for a tight fit of the tool handle 12 within the socket 22 despite fairly wide variations in the slope of the opposite handle sides or despite the fact that these opposite sides extend in substantial parallelity. With the handle 12 thus fitted, so to speak, within the socket 22, the handle portion 16 of the casing 14 may be employed for applying a leverage to the wrench handle in excess of the possible leverage afforded by the handle alone.

Upon insertion of the handle 12 into the socket 22, the extreme end of the handle will engage the impact arms 32 and move the same rearwardly, thus shifting the entire knock-out mechanism including the ejector rod 30 and knock-out button 41 to its retracted position as shown in full lines in Fig. 3. The knock-out mechanism will thus remain inoperative during use of the wrench handle extension assembly for leverage purposes.

When it is desired to separate the wrench handle extension assembly from the wrench handle 12, it is merely necessary to tap the knock-out button 41 against some solid object such as a floor or wall surface and the combined momentum of the casing 14 and the wrench or other tool carried thereby will force the casing rearwardly, i.e. axially in the direction fo the knock-out button 41, so that the latter, being held against shifting movement by virtue of its contact with a reaction surface, will maintain the ejector rod 30 and impact ejector 32 in position to be engaged by the end of the wrench handle and the latter, upon striking the impact arms 34, will become dislodged from its tight frictional fit within the socket 22 and between the socket walls 26. Alternatively, the handle section or portion 16 may be held manually and, by the use of a suitable impact tool such as a hammer or the like, the knock-out button 41 may be struck a blow to force the entire knock-out assembly forwardly within the casing, whereupon the impact ejector 32 will engage the extreme rear end of the wrench handle 12 and dislodge the same from its tight frictional fit within the socket 22.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A tool handle extension comprising an elongated.

tubular open-ended casing, said casing including a handle section .of uniformly circular cross-section throughout extending inwardly from one end of the casing, a socket section of generally rectangular cross-section throughout extending inwardly from the other end of the casing, and an intermediate section having walls which merge at the opposite ends thereof into the round and flat walls of the handle and socket sections respectively, said socket section being adapted to receive therein one end of a tool handle, said socket section presenting at least one pair of opposed walls which are inclined forwardly and outwardly away from each other at a small angle to effect binding engagement with the opposite sides of the tool handle, an ejector rod axially slidable in and extending completely through the handle section of the casing; theforward end of said rod normally terminating within the intermediate section and being adapted to have its forward end projected into the socket section for impact with the tool handle in said socket section and the rear end of the rod projecting outwardly through the open end of the handle section and being adapted for impact engagement with a reaction surface for rod shifting purposes, an interengaging means on the casing and ejector rod for limiting the extent of axial movement of the ejector rod in either direction.

2. A tool handle extension comprising an elongated tubular open-ended casing, said casing including a handle section of substantially uniformly circular cross-section throughout extending inwardly from one end of the casing, a socket section of generally rectangular cross-section throughout extending inwardly from the other end of the casing, and an intermediate section having walls which merge at the opposite ends thereof into the round and flat walls of the handle and socket sections respectively, said socket section being adapted to receive there in with a tight frictional fit one end of a tool handle, I

the open rimof said casing in the handle section being formed with an inturned flange, a tubular anti-friction liner fixedly disposed within said handle section of the casing immediately inwardly of said inturned flange, a tubular slide member telescopically received through the open end of the handle section and slidable axially within said liner and projecting completely therethrough, a knock-out button carried exteriorly of the casing and at the outer end of said slide member, said knock-out button having a shank portion projecting completely through the slide member, centering washers disposed at each end of the slide member and serving to maintain the shank portion of the knock-out button centered axially relative to the slide member, an elongated ejector rod extending axially through said handle section of the casing and having its rear end disposed in abutting relation to the forward end of the shank portion of the knockout button, a coupling sleeve maintaining said rod and shank portion in their abutting relation, the forward end of said rod remote from said shank portion of the knockout button normally terminating in said intermediate portion of the casing and being adapted to be projected into the socket section for effective impact engagement with an end of a tool handle disposed in said socket section.

3. A tool handle extension comprising an elongated tubular open-ended casing, said casing including a handle section of substantially uniformly circular cross-section throughout extending inwardly from one end of the casing, a socket section of generally rectangular cross-section throughout extending inwardly from the other end of the casing, and an intermediate section having walls which merge at the opposite ends thereof into the round and flat walls of the handle and socket sections respectively, said socket section being adapted to receive therein with 7 a tight frictional fit one end of a tool handle, the open rim ofsaid casing in the handle section being formed with an inturned flange, a tubular anti-friction liner fixedly disposed within said handle section of the casing immediately inwardly of said intumed flange, a tubular slide member telescopically received through the open end of the handle section and slidable axially within said liner and projecting completely through the latter, a knock-out button carried exteriorly of the casing and at the outer end of said slide member, said knock-out button having a shank portion projecting completely through the slide member, shoulderdefining means at the opposite ends of said slide member engageable with said inturned rim and an end of the liner respectively to limit the extent of sliding movement of the slide member in opposite directions, an elongated ejector rod extending axially through said handle section of the casing and having its rear end disposed in abutting relation to the forward end of the shank portion of the knock-out button, a coupling sleeve maintaining said rod and shank portion of the knock-out V 8 button in their abutting relation, the forward end of the rod remote from said shank portion of the knock-out button normally terminating in said intermediate portion of the casingand being adapted to be projected into said socket section for efiective impact engagement with an end of a tool handle disposed within said socket section.

4. A tool handle extension as set forth in claim 3 including, additionally, an impact member proper at the forward end of the ejector rod and presenting spaced tool handle engaging arms adapted to individually contact the tool handle for ejecting purposes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,155,841 Seybert Oct. 5, 1915 1,630,848 Ivey May 31, 192.7 2,376,764 Flower May 22, 1945 2,924,481 Wagstafi Feb. 9, 1960 

